KSL Truth Test: Fact-checking debate claims in Utah's 3rd Congressional District

SALT LAKE CITY — Republican Congresswoman Celeste Maloy and Democratic challenger Kent Udell took to the debate stage Friday evening at Utah Tech University in St. George ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

During the conversation, hosted by the Utah Debate Commission, the candidates discussed several pressing issues impacting Utahns, including affordability concerns, Social Security, data center regulation, national debt, and management of public lands.

But did their claims of fact hold up to the KSL Truth Test? The KSL Investigators fact-checked claims from each of the candidates:

Diesel fuel

Discussing affordability concerns, Maloy said the price of diesel is coming down.

"It's still high, but it's coming down," she said, "and I'm excited to see it going in the right direction."

According to AAA, diesel prices have come down slightly from record highs in September. The national average price of diesel right now is $6.37 a gallon. That's down from $6.50 a week ago. But it's up significantly from $3.70 a year ago.

We rate Maloy's claim on declining diesel prices true.

Government spending

In response to a question about government spending and budget cuts, Udell touched on the fiscal problems at the Pentagon.

"Over 60% of our budget for national defense is unaccounted for," he said.

It's true that last year, auditors couldn't verify 64% of the Department of Defense's budgetary resources. But that refers to spending power, not the annual defense budget itself. We rate Udell's claim false.

National debt

Later in the debate, the congresswoman talked about the national debt.

"In fact, last year we changed the debt-to-GDP ratio to make it smaller for the first time in about 30 years," Maloy said.

Related:

Here's where Utah's 3rd Congressional District candidates fall on affordability, data centers

Rep. Celeste Maloy and Kent Udell debated on affordability and data center regulation.

Debt-to-GDP measures how much a country owes compared to the size of its economy. It has fallen recently – but not for the first time in three decades, as Maloy said. It's dropped several times, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

We rate Maloy's claim false.

National monuments

Toward the end of the debate, Maloy and Udell had an exchange about the day in July when President Trump once again shrunk the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in southern Utah.

Udell turned to Maloy, who was in the Oval Office the day Trump signed that order.

"I watched you stand behind President Trump as he was saying, 'You can't hike on these lands, you can't camp on these lands, you can't fish on these lands,' and that was a lie, and you knew it," Udell said. "And you stood there and smiled and said, 'Yes, that's what we want to be doing.'"

We checked the recording from that day. Trump did, in fact say: "You can't do anything. You can't go hunting. You can't go fishing. You can't do anything. You can virtually not even walk on it."

But Maloy said nothing. Instead, it was Kate MacGregor, standing to the left of the president, who said: "That's exactly right, sir."

Maloy was there, but she didn't say what her opponent insisted she did. We rate Udell's claim false.

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